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She says that there is a 95% likelihood that the contempt charge will not fly.

BUT, here's how we REALLY "win":  We now get to pay $1000.00 (minimum) to go to court to fight the contempt charge that we all know to be bogus.  We "win" by not having to pay the plaintiff's attorney's fees once we prove that the charge is bogus.  (Easy enough to do.)We "win" by paying lots of money to draft a new order, which will be eerily similar to the last order, but with MAYBE a compromise thrown our way.

We received this paperwork 3 days ago.  We are 900 miles away, and the court hearing is in 3 days.  Obviously we are under the gun here.  We know we're not in contempt, and so does everyone else involved.  Our attorney is telling us that there's no hope of us recovering attorney's fees.  (We should just be happy that we're not paying the plaintiff's fees.)

1)  So, if I'm to understand this right, we're just totally screwed?

Thank you very much.  I'm sorry that in trying to keep my post short and sweet, I didn't give enough information.   DH and BM do have a signed agreement whereby he will pay for 100% of tuition, books and fees while SD and BM split living expenses.  (SD living in BM's home.)CS order was terminated in 6/05.

As always, the story is long and involved... The agreement states that SD must maintain full time student status, which is defined as 12 credit hours, that she must maintain a 2.0 GPA, and that she must forward any pertinent college information to parents upon receipt.  It also clearly states that only once these requirements are met by SD will DH provide his portion of the obligation.

In the Fall semester, SD did NOT meet the agreed upon requirements.  In addition to this, she did several things that were intended to skirt her responsibilities as outlined in the agreement.  

Rather than borrow trouble by refusing to pay for Spring semester, and in an effort to maintain "reasonability", DH informed BM that since the order requires SD to only take 12 credit hours, he would pay for only 12 credit hours.  (SD registered for 18, presumably so that she could overload on classes in order to manipulate the terms of the agreement as she did last semester... this is the part of the story that gets long and involved.)  

The contempt charge states that he refuses to pay for "any" of her education, which is blatently false.  He has paid for 100% of tuition, books and fees for a full time student, exactly as the order states.

1)  Does the fact that SD and BM violated the order FIRST help our case?

2)  Shouldn't the Contempt motion state the exact part of the order that
was supposedly violated?  (It does not.)

3) There is a portion of the contempt order that addresses a completely unrelated issue from the original divorce decree.  Can one contempt motion encompass two different orders without stating such?  

Dear Socrateaser,

DH is the Defendant responding to a Motion for Rule to Show Cause and Contempt.  The State is Illinois.  The motion states specifically that DH has "refused to contribute towards any of the educational expenses" of his adult daughter.

We have a cancelled check for spring '06 tuition and fees, endorsed and cashed by the plaintiff, along with an email from her stating that she received the check and acknowledging what it was for.

We live 900 miles away from the Plaintiff.  We believe that she has filed this suit as a form of harassment/bullying, as she and DH do not see eye to eye on best interests of child.

We have a phone conference with an attorney tomorrow.

1)  With the evidence as it is, is there any way that this charge could stand?

2)  If you were DH's attorney, would you seek any sort of penalties against the Plaintiff for knowingly filing this bogus lawsuit?

Thanks so much for your help.

Does the court generally consider therapy/counseling to be a "medical expense"?  

i.e. If one agrees to pay a portion of out of pocket medical and dental expenses for an adult child, then are they tacitly agreeing to therapy/counseling expenses as well?  (Child in question has no diagnosable or life threatening conditions such as schizophrenia, suicidal tendencies, etc. and is not on any medication.)


One million thanks to you!!! :D
Hazel

I wanted to post what I've learned thus far, in case it can help anyone else out there:

1)  Illinois does not continue child support after HS graduation unless the original decree indicates such or the child is disabled.

2) There are specific statutes that govern minority CS (750 ILCS 505)  vs Adult educational support (750 ILCS 513).  The state of Illinois is very decisive and adamant in the fact that adult educational support is not to be confused with child support, even though the statutes sound very similar and many people do confuse the two.

3)  Adult educational support under 750 ILCS 513 is NOT calculated using percent of NCP income.  THANKFULLY, it is calculated using actual COSTS.  (Woohoo!!! FINALLY!!!)

4) There is a HUGE varience in the way different judges will rule on these cases.  Some will say 50/50, some will say 33/33/33, some will say 80/20, etc.

We are negotiating on our own, out of court and without using attorneys.  (Although both parties have had consultations with their respective attorneys and have received advice.)  As it is now, DH has offered 100% of educational expenses, with BM and SD splitting living expenses.  (Child living with Mom while attending community college.)  This offer has worked for us thus far, however the sticking point is that CP doesn't want to hold SD to any kind of educational standard.  We are asking for a C average and for full time student status to be maintained (2.4 GPA).  If she continues to refuse this, we are considering taking our offer off of the table entirely, due to SD's current 2.16 GPA and the wording of the original divorce decree.  This would then force her to take us to court to get anything at all, and if she does this she could feasibly end up with less than we are offering.

Soc, is this a sound strategy in your opinion?

Dear Socrateaser,

The state is Illinois.

Exact wording in divorce decree:
The parties agree that they shall contribute toward the minor child's college education to the extent that each is financially able based upon aptitude and desire for post-secondary education.

Child is a senior in high school, graduating in June.  Current GPA is 2.16 on a 4.0 scale.  Grades have been slipping steadily since last year.  

1)  Does this phrase "aptitude and desire" really mean anything?

2) If so, how is it measured by the court?


Thanks so much.

Best Regards,
Hazel

Believe me, I completely agree with you!... But if you look at the link I provided, you'll see that Illinois and Minnesota do not require that a "child" be living in the parental home in order to collect Support, so the CP could possibly walk away scott free with the past 6 months worth of CS. The OCSE site also says that moving out of the parental home does not constitute emancipation.  Perhaps, if there's wording in your decree that CP must keep you informed of any changes in child's residence you may be able to recoup the overpayment based on the fact that CP collected it fraudulently, but then I suppose you'd have to prove that she intentionally mislead you into thinking the child was still living there....  

It's pretty clear by the OCSE site that emancipation does not take place until graduation, IF even THEN...  I wholeheartedly disagree with this.  If the government has its way, nobody will EVER be emancipated!!!  I thought I'd seen everything there is to see regarding CS laws, but now that I'm into this college stuff, nothing surprises me anymore.  :(  To have a situation where a minor can move from a parent's home and still receive support... Well let's just imagine OUR parents paying support to US if we decided to move in with a friend!!!  LOL, I can most assuredly say that would never have flown...  Illinois and some other states are doing everything they can to remove any and all criteria for emancipation.  In Illinois, a minor isn't emancipated until they receive a Bachelor's degree.  :o  It is beyond ridiculous.

I suppose I'm quite jaded at this point, but I don't think you should make the mistake of thinking that the courts care about what's right , decent or sensible.  They will look at the absolute wording of your divorce decree, along with the absolute letter of the law.  "Right" and "Wrong" seldom factor into the equation.

You are absolutely right that the CP should be paying, and you absolutely should file a motion to terminate.  Please keep us posted, I'd like to hear what you find out about this.  I sincerely hope my hunches are wrong.  I could use a ray of hope.

Best Regards,
Hazel

Hi,
I don't mean to be a buttinski, but I'm knee deep in "18 year old blues" myself at this point so maybe I can help a little.

I'm from Illinois, and unfortunately for you, your state's laws are similar to mine.  You may be on the hook until she graduates, regardless of where she lives.  Minnesota does not recognize 18 year olds as emancipated adults until graduation.  At most, you may be able to get the support money paid directly to your daughter or to her caregivers, but I doubt they'll let you stop paying.  (See the following link, and pay special attention to "D. Age of Majority" see #D5 specifically.)

 http://ocse3.acf.dhhs.gov/ext/irg/sps/report.cfm?State=MN&CFID=366119&CFTOKEN=59894254

I totally agree with Soc that you should file a motion to terminate, just don't get your hopes up.  :(

Best of Luck,
Hazel

Hi Socrates,

Again, thank you for the service you provide.  It is truly priceless.

DH and I are working on coming to an agreement on college support in Illinois.  The sticking point is going to be "Living Expenses".  I have been trying like crazy to find some case law to rely upon, to no avail.

Child will attend community college and reside in CP home.  CP, being understandably reluctant to let go of CS windfall, is padding "living expenses" in order to continue support and avoid financial contribution.

1)  Can you point me in the direction of some case law (or better yet, just look in your crystal ball and give me the answer) to explain how "living expenses" are generally calculated?


Best Regards,
Hazel

Hi Socrates,

Again, thank you for the service you provide.  It is truly priceless.

DH and I are working on coming to an agreement on college support in Illinois.  The sticking point is going to be "Living Expenses".  I have been trying like crazy to find some case law to rely upon, to no avail.

Child will attend community college and reside in CP home.  CP, being understandably reluctant to let go of CS windfall, is padding "living expenses" in order to continue support and avoid financial contribution.

1)  Can you point me in the direction of some case law (or better yet, just look in your crystal ball and give me the answer) to explain how "living expenses" are generally calculated?


Best Regards,
Hazel